Aquino abolishes 3 GOCCs linked to PDAF scam

Employees of three government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) may have to look for another job after President Benigno Aquino III has finally approved the abolition of these state firms.

The Philippine Forest Corporation (PFC) and ZNAC Rubber Estate (ZREC) were among the first batch of GOCCs ordered abolished by the President last month following alleged links to the pork barrel scam.

Also abolished was National Agri-Business Corporation (NABCOR) for being a “non-performing” government firm that has operated on a loss, according to the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG).

The commission earlier recommended the abolition of these three state firms last year after conducting an evaluation of the financial viability and relevance of GOCCs to national development plans. President Aquino has asked the GCG to determine which GOCCs should be abolished or privatized after some of the firms were implicated in the pork barrel scam.

“The GCG’s regular evaluation of GOCCs also showed that the three GOCCs were no longer performing the purpose for which they were created, had negligible social impact and were not financially viable,” the GCG said in a statement posted on the Official Gazette.

The GCG said a technical working group will be created to implement the abolition plans, including winding down of operations, disposition of assets, liabilities, closing of book accounts, and the transfer of assets and functions.

“Affected employees are given separation pay pursuant to civil service rules and regulations, unless they are found to have participated in graft and/or corrupt acts in which case the separation package may be withheld pending the investigation and/or prosecution,” the GCG said.

If any anomaly is committed, the commission said it will submit any findings to the Office of the Ombudsman for action.

“Currently, the GCG is studying the abolition of more GOCCs as part of its broad mandate, which includes merging, reorganizing, streamlining, and privatizing GOCCs,” the commission said.